Saturday, March 21, 2020

World Poetry Day & Spring time : let's talk about poetry & hope !

"Sound the flute!Now it's mute!Birds delight,Day and night,Nightingale,In the dale,Lark in sky, -Merrily,Merrily, merrily to welcome in the year.(...)

William Blake, Spring (Songs of Innocence)

On a Spring afternoon, a poem we can recite that makes spring seem more intensely itself. Even on a rainy afternoon like this one.Yes, today we celebrate World Poetry Day. The observance of World Poetry Day is also meant "to encourage a return to the oral tradition of poetry recitals, to promote the teaching of poetry, to restore a dialogue between poetry and the other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting, and to support small publishers and create an attractive image of poetry in the media, so that the art of poetry will no longer be considered an outdated form of art, but one which enables society as a whole to regain and assert its identity."United Nations

William Blake:

Spring is a lyric poem written and illustrated by William Blake. It was first published in Songs of Innocence (1789) and later in Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794).

Songs of Innocence and of Experience is an illustrated collection of poems by William Blake. It appeared in two phases. A few first copies were printed and illuminated by William Blake himself in 1789.

Little boy,Full of joy;Little girl,Sweet and small;Cock does crow,So do you;Merry voice,Infant noise;Merrily, merrily, to welcome in the year.(...)

William Blakewas an English poet, painter, engraver, and visionary.Largely unrecognized during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age.

Blakewas placed at number 38 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. Though in his lifetime his work was largely neglected or dismissed he is now considered one of the leading lights of English poetry, and his work has only grown in popularity.

While he lived in London his entire life, except for three years spent in Felpham, he produced a diverse and symbolically rich œuvre, which embraced the imagination as "the body of God" or "human existence itself".

The poem is split into three stanzas. The rhyme scheme goes AABBCCDDE. The last line of each stanza is the same to show the joy the author has for this time of year. The poem is written in dactylic feet.

"Spring" is a happily written poem with a hint of rhyme. Devoted to Blake's favorite things, each stanza describing a particular thing. The first stanza is about birds and a bush, the second a little boy and a little girl, and in the final stanza the lamb and "I". This format shows the transition from innocence to a bit of romance, where the child and lamb become close.

Spring is back! Yesterday, the 2020 March was the first day of Spring 2020. Also known as the vernal equinox. It may still be frosty around Portugal, but birds are singing outdoors, on the trees. We listen and try to not think about the social isolation.

May be birds feel that we need some joy - they are very happy, believe me! - around the sadness caused by the coronavirus that appeared in Europe some weeks before Spring. We stay home and avoid contact with other people, all over Europe. We obey to the social distance rules.

Teachers don't have students at school. Students are at home. The number of children, youth and adults not attending schools or universities because of COVID-19 is soaring. Governments all around the world have closed educational institutions in an attempt to contain the global pandemic

Teachers help them to study at home. It's not Easter time. Students are on quarantine. But teachers are in contact with their students on WhatsApp, Skype, email, social media and some educational platforms.

However kids are anxious! All the family is. They don't go to school because a virus. At home on TV, on Internet and on social media are talking and talking about it. There are some real images. But so cruel to kids!

Why not to tell a story of hope - spring is here - reading aloud to the little ones the book And Then it's Spring by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Erin E. Stead.

Following a snow-filled winter, a young boy and his dog decide that they've had enough of all that brown and resolve to plant a garden. They dig, they plant, they play, they wait . . . and wait . . . until at last, the brown becomes a more hopeful shade of brown, a sign that spring may finally be on its way. Julie Fogliano's tender story of anticipation is brought to life.

"Many treasures lie buried within this endearing story, in which humor and anxious anticipation sprout alongside one another."

Fight Ilegal Contents

Member

Email

Expert

My website

Global Junior Challenge 2004

Micro-Innovator ICT Learning

Certified Expert

Recent Publications

Souto, G. (2013) Time for Action: New Challenges in Secondary Education. At Conference Proceedings, International Conference The Future of Education, Florence, Italy.

Souto, G. (2013) Visionary Learning for 2030: Secondary Education. In Booklet online "Vision on Open Education 2030 Part 2: School Education", European Commission and The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS).

TEDxKids Brussels 2011

Gina Souto was guest tweeting from TEDxKids in Brussels on June 1st."48 kids, all of them born in 2000, are going get their hands dirty, soldering, tinkering, hacking and composing. A series of hands-on workshops will introduce the kids to a range of skills and methods.

At the same time 400 adults will be treated to an all day program of leading thinkers, experts and makers."

The twitter address is @TEDxKidsEU and there was a fantastic live stream from the event.